Long Stories, New Beginnings
by moonlite-n-roses
Summary: Kat finds a lost little girl in the park, that little girl is none other than Anaya Park, Adam’s daughter. Two old friends are reunited, each with long stories that have drawn them back to Angel Grove. COMPLETE! 02.13.08
1. I lost my daddy!

**Title:** Long Stories, New Beginnings

**Pairing:** Adam/Kat

**Rating:** T

**Summary:** Kat finds a lost little girl in the park, that little girl is none other than Adrianaya Park, Adam's daughter. Two old friends are reunited, each with long stories that have drawn them back to Angel Grove. They get reacquainted, and see how time has changed each of them and in doing so, find that their own relationship may have changed as well.

**Author's Note:** Yes, this is a pretty unconventional paring I guess, but this plot bunny crept into my head tonight and would not leave me alone unless it got written, so here it is. This will be a multi-chaptered story, but relatively short.

Kat was walking through the park, enjoying the nice, summer breeze. She'd just moved back to Angel Grove after a stint in the Royal Ballet Company after graduating their Academy at the top of the class. As she was walking, she thought she had heard muffled crying sounds coming from the trees near the walkway. She stopped and headed towards the sound. She was surprised to find a little girl standing under a tree, clutching a stuffed frog to her chest. "Oh, are you lost sweetie?" She asked softly, kneeling down in front of the girl.

The girl looked up at her and nodded, causing her raven ringlets to bounce "I can't find daddy" she whispered. "I was chasing a froggy and I lost my daddy."

"Ooh you poor dear," she looked around, hoping one of the security guards was near by. She didn't see one and sighed, "I'll try to help you find your daddy sweetie, do you know his name?"

The child nodded "Yeah, his name is daddy!"

Kat laughed softly, "Okay, what is your name then?"

"I'm Anaya" the girl said softly, "Daddy calls me his lil' Anaya-banana."

"Well, I'm Katherine," Kat replied, standing back up. "Why don't we start looking for your daddy?" She held out her hand for Anaya to take.

Anaya took Kat's hand as they started walking up the path. "I miss my daddy." She sighed dramatically and shrugged her shoulders. "I'll NEVER find him."

Kat tried not to chuckle at the little girl's dramatics, "I'm sure we'll find him. Don't worry."

Meanwhile, Adam was running through the park, "Anaya!! Anaya!! Where are you?" He called, his mind running a mile a minute with thoughts of what could have happened to his baby girl.

Anaya was still walking with Kat when she stopped, "Daddy's calling me!" she squeaked happily. "Daddy!! Daddy!!" she yelled, seeing him just up the path. She let go of Kat's hand and ran over to him. "Daddy I found you!"

"Anaya, where did you go? I bend down for one minute and you vanished! Don't do that sweetie" he said, kneeling down, hugging her tightly.

"I was chasing a froggy. You were supposed to follow me!" She sighed dramatically, "A pretty lady found me; she was helping me find you." She looked up and pointed, "That's her… Kat-erine" she said, trying hard to pronounce her name.

Adam looked up and his eyes got wide, "Kat?" he asked, blinking quickly in disbelief. He stood up, picking up Adrianaya in his arms.

"No Daddy! Her name is Kat-erine! She's not a cat!"

Kat laughed, "Its okay Anaya, I know your daddy from a long time ago. MY nickname is Kat." She smiled, "Long time no see Adam" she chuckled, "So this is your daughter?"

Adam nodded "Yup, this is my very dramatic, 4 going on 30 year old daughter." He reached over and gave Kat a hug, "What are you doing back in Angel Grove? I thought you were a hotshot with the Royal Ballet Company."

Kat sighed, "Long story, I don't want to go into it here. What about you? Last I'd heard you had moved to L.A. to be a stuntman. I thought you were engaged to Tanya, umm…" she trailed off, unsure how to say 'your daughter looks nothing like Tanya', delicately.

It was Adam's turn to sigh, "Long story, I definitely don't want to get into it here in front of Anaya."

"Why not daddy? I'm a big girl," Anaya said with a pout.

"I know you are, but some things are just not meant for your ears kiddo." Adam replied, kissing her forehead.

Anaya sighed, a long suffering sigh, "Daddy, I'm tired" she said, yawning and putting her head down on Adam's shoulder.

"I should get her home, do you want to go out and get some dinner later? We can trade long stories" Adam said with a laugh, "My treat."

Kat nodded, "I'd love to." She reached into her purse and pulled out a mini-note pad and pen, as she was scribbling she said, "This is my address and phone number, pick me up say around 6:30?" She handed Adam the slip of paper.

Adam smiled, "6:30 it is, see you then Kat." He looked down and noticed Anaya was already asleep. "Thanks for finding her for me" he said softly.

"My pleasure Adam, see you tonight" she replied, smiling back at him before turning around, heading back to her place, to get ready for her date, _it's not a date, just a dinner between friends, it's Adam for goodness sakes, _she told herself, shaking her head. "Besides," she said aloud. "He's got a kid; he's probably married and happy." She shook her head again as she left the park.


	2. Kat's Story

Kat looked at herself in the mirror at 6:15. She'd spent and hour deciding what to where. "It's dinner, with Adam" she told herself in the mirror. "Quit over thinking this, dummy" she shook her head. She'd finally settled on a soft pink, button down blouse with crochet lace trim around the bottom and a knee-length denim skirt. She pulled her hair back in a loose tail, letting a few strands frame her face.

Adam parked the car in front of Katherine's apartment building. "Stay here Anaya, I'm going to go get Kat, then we're gonna take you to see grandma."

"Yay! I get to see Kat-erine AND Gamma" Anaya said, bouncing in her booster-seat.

Adam laughed as he got out of the car. He walked up to Kat's door and knocked. As he waited for her, he smoothed out his black, button down shirt. He stuck his hands habitually in the pockets of his khakis. As Kat opened the door he quickly took them out. "Hey," he grinned at her. "You look great," he added stepping back to allow her to come out.

"So do you Adam, you clean up quite nicely" she said with a soft laugh.

Adam laughed, "I try, I try. We have to take Anaya to my moms before we go get something to eat; she's keeping an eye on her for me tonight." He walked back to the car and opened the door for her, "Milady" he said with an over-exaggerated bow.

"Always a gentleman," Kat laughed, sliding into the car. "Thank you kind sir," she said before Adam shut the door.

"Kat-erine! Kat-erine!" Anaya called happily from the back seat. "You look pretty!"

"Aww, thank you Anaya" Kat said turning back to her and giving her a smile. "Are you happy to go see your grandmother?"

Anaya nodded "Yes!!! She's gonna give me ice-cream, and cookies, and candy!!!!!"

"Oh really? I hope she knows she's keeping you tonight if she does that" Adam said with a laugh. "Mom is not gonna hype her up on sugar and send her home, no way."

"Paybacks?" Kat asked with a laugh.

"Probably" Adam replied with a smile.

After Adam dropped Anaya off, making his mom promise to keep her for the night, they decided on a place to eat. Adam pulled into the parking lot of Marcello's, a nice Italian eatery. "I've heard their food is amazing" he said as he opened the door for Kat.

Kat nodded, "So have I. Oh, it looks so beautiful in here" she said, pointing out the Italian paintings and maps on the walls.

Adam agreed as the hostess showed them to their seats. They laughed and joked as they made their drink and food decisions. After they placed their order, Adam folded his hands on the table, "So… what exactly brought you back here to Angel Grove?"

Kat sighed, "You first," she tried dodging the question.

"Aa-ah, nope, I asked you first earlier, so you first." Adam replied with a half-smile.

Kat nodded, "Alright, well, you know after graduation I was offered the position of a principal dancer in the RBC. It was wonderful" she smiled softly.

"A principal dancer? Is that a big thing?" Adam asked, his voice tinged with curiosity.

"It's sort of like one of the star dancers. It'd be like Clare in the Nutcracker, or Odette in Swan Lake" Kat replied. "So yes, it was a big deal for me. It was my dream come true ya know?"

"So what happened?" Adam asked, "I mean, why'd you stop?"

"I didn't have a choice. There was a fire scare during one of our shows, everyone started freaking out, running around madly. Four of us fell and pretty much got trampled. I broke my ankle and messed up my knee. After I healed, even though I could still dance, I still wanted to dance. I was too much of a liability to the company. So..." she trailed off, her face clearly saying what a crock of bullshit she thought their reason for letting her go was.

"So what do you think was the real reason they dropped you?" Adam asked, reading her expression perfectly. "I can tell you think that's bullshit."

"Do you know how weird it is to here you swear?" Kat asked with a chuckle, "There was a new dancer in the company, Iliana, everyone knows she was bloody shagging the director. I think they let me go so Iliana could take over as principal." She shook her head, "Iliana is a good dancer, but she's got shoddy technique," Kat added, a look of disgust on her face.

"Do you know how weird it is to here YOU swear?" Adam replied. He laughed at the look on Kat's face, "Ah, the claws come out" he teased.

"Oh shut up you!" Kat said with a laugh. "So, I came back to Angel Grove, since it's familiar to me. I went back to Australia first, but, it just wasn't home anymore."

Adam nodded, "Angel Grove is home to me too, I have the best memories of being here."

Kat nodded, "Exactly. So, what about you? What happened between you and Tanya, how did you get that adorable little girl, and how did you end up back here?"

Adam was silent for a moment, biting his lip as he thought through exactly how to tell her what had happened between him and Tanya 5 years ago. "Well…"

**Author's Note:** Ha!! You gotta wait till next time to get Adam's story! LOL Let me know what you guys think, pleeeeeaassseee.

**Author's Note2:** Changed a bit of Kat's language. I want to keep it T, so, yeah.


	3. Adam's Story

**Author's Note:** Here we go, Adam's story. Sorry it's a day late, I was really tired yesterday.

Kat noticed the look on Adam's face, "Tanya didn't cheat on you did she?" She didn't think Tanya was the type of person to do something like that.

Adam shook his head, "No, Tanya didn't cheat on me. We broke it off so she wouldn't HAVE to cheat on me," Adam explained, toying with his water glass.

"What?"

Adam sighed, "Things were, I guess they were going sour between us, maybe we were growing apart, I don't really know. Anyway, Tanya met someone at the radio station she worked at; they started spending some time together, as friends at first. Tanya told me no matter what she felt; she wouldn't hurt me by messing around behind my back."

"Well, that's nice for her," Kat remarked dryly. "So…"

"So when things were getting to that point I guess, Tanya broke it off with me. She didn't want to hurt me," Adam continued, a bitter note to his voice. "After we broke it off, she introduced me to her guy; I have to admit he's a great guy. Ex-rangers usually are," he added, a slight frown on his face.

"Ex…" Kat trailed off, "She broke it off with you for one of us? Who?" She wore a look of surprise and shock.

"You don't know him I don't think; he was my predecessor, the original black ranger. Zack Taylor."

"Wait, Tanya broke up with you, for another power ranger?" Kat asked in disbelief.

"To her defense, and his actually, Tanya didn't know Zack was a ranger, you know we never really talked about the before us, and Zack didn't know Tanya was a ranger. Zack felt bad when he realized who I was, but I told him, it's not like things would have been any different if he'd of been somebody else, I guess Tanya and I just weren't meant to be ya know?" Adam ran a hand over his short, cropped hair.

"Wow, that's, ya know, if anybody had a chance out of all of us, I thought it would be you and Tanya. You guys were solid." Kat responded, shaking her head slightly.

"We grew up, and grew apart I guess, I didn't see it coming. We're still friends though; we talk on the phone at least once a week." He added, to show that he'd at least salvaged a friendship with her.

"So, fast forward a bit, you met somebody new and had Anaya?" Kat said after a few moments of silence, wanting to get Adam's mind off that obviously still somewhat painful subject.

"Actually," Adam shook his head, "Anaya was an accident. I was on the rebound from Tanya; I met a girl, completely opposite of Tanya but a real wild child. We fooled around for awhile, Anaya was conceived, she flipped out; she didn't want to be a parent, ever."

"Jesus," Kat said softly, "So she bailed on you."

Adam shrugged, "I more or less told her to go, I mean, she obviously didn't want to be a parent, she had NO maternal instincts whatsoever, Anaya was a burden to her and I didn't want Stephanie to take out her frustrations on Anaya, so I told her if she wanted to sign off on Anaya she could. It was guilt that was keeping her around anyway, I was afraid that guilt would be turned into something else, and Anaya shouldn't have to suffer for that."

Kat nodded, "She sounds like a horrible person," she said softly, thinking about how sweet Anaya had been in the less than 24 hours she'd known the child. She didn't know how anybody could not love their own child.

Adam shook his head, "No, she wasn't a horrible person Kat; she just wasn't suited to be a parent. At least she knew it, and didn't try to pretend, that would have been horrible," he responded.

"Maybe," Kat replied, "I just, I can't see how anyone could NOT love their child. I mean, it's a part of them."

"That is what will make you a wonderful mom," Adam said with a smile. "But you've always loved kids, so that's hardly surprising."

Kat laughed, "Yes, I guess I have," she would have said more, but then their dinners were served, and the conversation dimmed to small talk between bites.

After dinner, as they headed out of the restaurant, Kat looked out into the cloudless sky, "Thank you for dinner Adam, it was so nice catching up with you." She looked over at him, "I really missed you."

Adam smiled, "I missed you too, you know, we have to do this more often. I mean, we're the only ones left out of the group still living in Angel Grove."

"I'd like that, it's nice to know that even though so much has changed here, I've still got someone that's familiar," Kat replied as they walked to the car.

"Definitely," Adam agreed, opening the door for her. Once in, on the way back to Kat's apartment, Adam looked over at her, "I'm taking Anaya to the amusement park tomorrow, she likes the stunt shows," a grin crossed his face as he said that, "would you like to come with us?"

Kat laughed, "Like father, like daughter. I'd love to go with you guys, I haven't been there in years," she said with a warm smile. "It'll be fun, just like old times, except you aren't doing the stunts this time." As they pulled up to her place, Kat leaned over and gave Adam a hug, "Thank you again for dinner, and I will see you tomorrow morning. G'nite," she said softly, smiling as she stepped out of the car.

"See you tomorrow Kat," Adam said with a wave, giving her a grin in return. He watched to make sure she made it into her apartment safely before driving off to his mother's, thinking about the events of the evening.

**Author's Note2:** Well, there you have it, Adam's story. Now that the stories are out of the way, the new beginnings can unfold.


	4. Too Cute

**Author's Note:** Apologies on the delay of getting a new chapter out for you guys. I hope you enjoy.

_It's been three months since we ran into each other_, Kat thought to herself as she finished up the last of the dishes from the dinner that she, Adam, Anaya had finished up earlier. In those three months, Kat and Adam had regained the closeness they'd shared back in high school, always being around each other, the only difference being that it was just them this time, the rest of the gang was still spread out over the continent, and the world.

"Kat-erine, Kat-erine," Anaya called, running into the kitchen in her night-gown. "I'm a pretty, pretty princess!!" She did a twirl on her toes in front of Kat.

"Yes, yes you are," Kat said with a laugh, wiping her hands and picking her up, "But shouldn't this pretty, pretty princess be getting ready for bed?" She asked, carrying her down the hallway.

"If you let me stay up, I'll clean my room tomorrow," Anaya said, giving her what Adam called the 'patented puppy dog, give me my way' look. "Please Kat-erine."

"How about you go to bed now, and I'll help you clean up your room tomorrow," Katherine bargained with her as she took Anaya into her room. "You're little con-artist is back," she told Adam with a laugh.

"No deal," Anaya said with a pout.

"Anaya-banana, you were supposed to go to the bathroom," Adam said shaking his head.

"I did! But I wanted to say good night to Kat-erine, again" Anaya said with a smile. "I love you daddy," she added innocently.

"I love you too, my lil' con-artist" he said helping her into bed. "Good night Anaya," he said kissing her cheek.

"Kat-erine kisses too!" Anaya said firmly.

Kat laughed, leaning down and kissing Anaya on the forehead, "G'nite Anaya," she said with a smile.

"G'nite Kat-erine, I love you," she said hugging her before snuggling under her covers, with her stuffed frog in her arms.

"Love you too kiddo," Kat said warmly, shaking her head as she backed out of the bedroom and went into the living room to wait for Adam.

Adam came out a few minutes later and plopped down onto the couch next to her, "So, what did my lil' con-artist try tonight?" He asked curiously.

"She said she's clean her room tomorrow if I let her stay up," Kat replied with a soft laugh. "You know, she gets more and more adorable the more time I spend here."

Adam laughed, "It'll wear off soon," he joked. "So, movie?" he asked standing up, walking over to the DVD rack.

"You sure you want too? I mean, I know Rocky's coming in late tonight, and you guys haven't…"

"Rocky wants to see you too remember, besides, I get bored after Anaya's asleep. Besides, I promised dinner and a movie tonight didn't I?" He interrupted her.

"But I get to pick the movie," Kat pointed out, a smirk on her face.

"I'm doomed," Adam mumbled.

"I heard that Mr. Park," Kat retorted. "How about Dirty Dancing? I haven't seen it in ages and I KNOW you have it," she added with a chuckle.

"Jennifer Gray's hot," Adam mumbled his reply as he stood up with the DVD in hand.

"But I'm a better dancer," Kat said with a laugh.

"Well, I'd think that was obvious, but she's still hot," Adam retorted sticking his tongue out at her.

"Ooh stuff it and put the movie in," Kat said with a shake of her head. _I am so hotter than Jennifer Gray_, she thought to herself in a huff.

Adam put the movie in and hopped back onto the couch, "Let's do it," he said with a laugh. He checked his watch, "The movie should be over about the time Rocky gets here," he said as the beginning credits came on.

Two hours later, Rocky unlocked Adam's door with the key he'd been giving, just in case, and walked into Adam's house. Most of the lights were off including the living room, but the glow from the TV gave him a hint of where he could find his friends. "Adam? You awake?" He called softly as he crept in. "Oooh this is too cute!" he said ruffling through his bag for his camera. "I've got to get a picture of this."

This being, that Kat had fallen asleep shortly after the movie started, her head dipping onto Adam's shoulder. Adam had made halfway before he too had drifted off, his head resting comfortably on Kat's.

"Say cheese, oh wait… never mind, your asleep," he mumbled to himself as he took the picture, the flash startling both of them awake. "Shit," Rocky hid his camera quickly. "Hey guys, sorry I'm late, the plane was delayed a bit."

"Rocky!" Kat said happily, getting up and going over to hug him. "I haven't seen you in ages, you look great" she said kissing his cheek.

"Thanks so do you," Rocky replied, catching the absolute jealousy in his best friend's eyes. "So, when did you and Adam hook up?" he asked with a grin.

"Hook up?" Kat asked with a flush on her cheeks that could be seen, even in the pale light of the TV.

"We're not," Adam said getting up quickly. "We've just been hanging out a lot since we're both in town, like the old days," he said fidgeting nervously, a sign there was more to it than that.

"Riiiiiigggghhhht," Rocky said to both of them, "So… you got any grub? I'm starving." He made a point to call Aisha and Kim first thing tomorrow morning to get the story on what was going on between Kat and Adam.

Adam laughed and nodded, "Come on, I'll show you the kitchen." He hoped Rocky was going to leave the whole 'him and Kat' thing alone, but if he knew his best friend, it wasn't going to happen.

"Still the same ol' Rocky," Katherine said with a laugh, as she followed Adam and Rocky to the kitchen. "Always thinking with his stomach."

**Author's Note2:** Well there you have it. Chapter 4 yay!! I hope you guys enjoy. Aren't they cute!!!


	5. I think they're gonna make babies

**Author's Note:** Rocky gossips, and then cooks breakfast. Anaya explains where babies come from.

Rocky grumbled in his sleep as his alarm went off; he reached for it and slammed it down on the table. "Stupid" he mumbled looking at the time. He decided last night that he was going to call Kim and Aisha and get the scoop on what exactly was going on between Kat and Adam. If anybody knew, it'd be them. He picked up his phone and hit Kim's speed dial.

"This better be good Rocky DeSantos," a distinctly annoyed voice came on the phone.

"It is, I promise. How've you been Kim?" Rocky replied as he rubbed the sleep out of his eyes.

"Gee, how have I been? SLEEPING, that's how I've been, considering its FIVE IN THE FREAKING MORNING!" Kim practically screamed into the phone. "Time difference Rocky, ring a bell?"

"Shit! I'm sorry Kim, don't kill me, this is really important," Rocky pleaded. "Kat was here when I got to Adam's last night," Rocky relayed quickly. "They were sleeping on the couch."

"So, Kat's been spending a lot of time with Adam, big deal," Kim grumbled.

"They were sleeping together all curled up in each others arms!" Rocky exclaimed quietly.

"Really?" Kim asked, her mind waking up more at the idea of a romance. "Spill it Rocko."

Rocky told her all about what happened when he got there, about the picture, and the look of jealousy in Adam's eyes. "I swear, before we went to bed, every time I hugged Kat or she hugged me, Adam looked ready to kill."

"Oh my god, how sweet!" Kim squealed. "But they aren't together though right?"

"Right."

"I'll call Kat later and get more out of her; they would be so cute together!" Kim said happily.

"Yeah, well I'm going to call Aisha, give me a call after you talk to Kat, so we can see what's going on, and umm, I'm really sorry I woke you up," Rocky told her apologetically.

"You're lucky this was worth it, I'll only kill you a little bit next time I see you," Kim said with a laugh before saying goodbye.

Rocky hung up and hit Aisha's speed dial number, not realizing that she too was on the east coast. "Come on 'Ish, pick up the phone" Rocky mumbled.

"Rocky DeSantos, you have 10 seconds to tell me why you felt it necessary to wake me up at ass o'clock in the morning before I hope a flight to where ever you are and kick your ass," a very disgruntled yellow ranger ranted into the phone.

"Umm, because I think Kat and Adam like each other and when I hugged Kat Adam looked ready to kill me but when I asked them about it they both said they weren't hooked up but they were both blushing so I know there is something to hide, please don't' kill me." Rocky rambled quickly, knowing that the wrath of Aisha was worse than anything Kim could come up with.

"What? Kat and Adam? You'd better explain Rocky," Aisha said after a few moments in which she had to decipher what Rocky said.

Rocky explained once again what he'd witnessed between them the previous night, and his thoughts on the matter. "Adam tells you everything, so I think you'll be able to get more than I would out of him."

"Adam and Kat, now that is an interesting concept. I wouldn't have thought it ten years ago, but things change. Look, keep an eye on things today, report back to me tonight, and I'll call Adam and see what I can drag out of him, if I can't get him to talk, I betcha Tommy can."

"Thanks Ish, I love you," he said in an innocent tone, hoping she'd forgotten he'd woken her up at an ungodly hour.

"I love you too Rocky, but don't think you aren't getting payback for waking me up mister, I'll get you when you least expect it," and with that, she hung up the phone.

"I'm doomed," Rocky said as he shut his phone and lay back against his pillows.

"Hey Unca Rocky?" A little voice piped up from the doorway of his bedroom. "Daddy and Kat-erine are still sleeping and I'm hungry, can you make me sumthin' ta eat?"

"Of course kiddo," Rocky said slipping out of the bed. "Hey kiddo, you know everything right?" He asked, picking her up.

"Duh! Of course I do," she said with a giggle.

"What is going on with your daddy and Kat?" He asked; figuring children can be the most honest people in the world, and great help when scheming.

"I dunno Unca Rocky, but Kat makes my daddy smile a lot, and my daddy is always doing things for her, like opening doors and stuff, and they do laundry together. So I think they're gonna make babies."

Rocky nearly dropped her from the shock of that last sentence, "What? Why do you think they are gonna make babies?"

"Oh Unca Rocky," she said with a sigh, giving him a look that said 'clearly you are a dumbass.' "Don't you know anything? When a boy and a girl wash their underwear together, they make babies," she explained in a patient tone.

"Really? Who told you that?" Rocky asked with a laugh, _wait till I tell Adam that,_ he thought to himself.

"Justin, he knows EVERYTHING," she said in wide-eyed amazement.

"Oh boy," Rocky said as he set her down on the kitchen counter, "you are going to be a handful someday kiddo."

"I already am," she replied with a mischievous grin.

**Author's Note2:** Just a cute little scheming chapter to set things up. Anaya's explanation of how to make babies is from my own childhood, my dad's best friend told that to me when I was little.


	6. The lady doth protest too much

**Author's Note:** Once again, my apologies for taking some time to update, between school and now a death in the family, I was suffering from some major writers block. I hope this is up to par.

* * *

Kat walked into her apartment and looked around, it'd been a few days since she spent any considerable amount of time there. She and Adam had been falling asleep watching movies together as of late. "Home, sweet, home" she said with a touch of sarcasm, since it no longer felt that way.

As she set her purse down and walked into the kitchen the phone rang, and she grabbed for it blindly as she opened her refrigerator. "Adam? I just walked in the door," she said with an almost wistful sigh.

"Wow, you automatically assume its Frog-boy that's calling you, that is so sweet," said a voice laced with laughter.

"Kimberly? Oh my god, hi," she said happily, since she hadn't talked to her in what felt like ages. "I've missed you," she said, trying to avoid the topic of why she thought it was Adam calling her.

"Apparently not as much as you miss Adam," Kim teased. "So, rumor has it you've been spending quite a lot of alone time with our resident frog-prince."

"Yes, I have, and that's ALL Kimberly, and I'm going to bloody smack Rocky, he's the one who told you isn't he?"

"Aww, come on now, be nice to Rocko. I have to kill him first," she replied with a laugh. "Seriously though Kat, what's the deal with you and Froggie?"

"Nothing! We're just friends! Maybe he's sweet and definitely A LOT more handsome than I remember, but we're just friends!" Kat exclaimed.

"The lady doth protest to much, methinks," Kimberly quipped, giggling softly.

"Shut up Kimberly, I'm not protesting anything thank you very much," Kat grumbled.

"Oh come on Kat, you want him, you can admit it to me, I'm one of your best friends," Kimberly tried coaxing it out of her.

"Right, I admit it to you, you call Aisha, she calls Tommy, and everybody is going to trip over themselves to play matchmaker, no thanks, I'll keep it to myself thank you very much," she replied firmly.

Kim laughed, because Kat had inadvertently admitted it even while she was denying it, "Fine, fine. I'll leave it alone. I have to say, I think you guys would make a cute couple."

"Kimberly," Kat said wearily.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm leaving it alone. So anyway, how adorable is that lil' girl of Adam's?" Kim asked, steering the conversation away from Kat's now affirmed crush.

* * *

Adam dialed a familiar number after dropping Anaya off at her pre-school class. He didn't want to make this call in front of Rocky because he knew, out of all of them, strangely enough, Rocky was the gossip-queen.

"Hello?"

"Hey songbird, how are you?"

"Adam! I haven't talked to you in forever," Tanya exclaimed, smiling at Zack before heading into the kitchen. "What have you been up to?"

"Nothing much, Anaya is a handful, but mama said that's payback. Kat's been a blessing though, Anaya listens to her more than she does me sometimes," Adam replied with a laugh.

"So you've been spending a lot of time with Kat?" Tanya asked, unsure of how she felt about that. "How's she doing?"

"She's doing good; she seems a lot happier than when I first ran into her. It's almost like old times, her being here," Adam replied, not noticing the slight change in Tanya's tone.

"Really, rumor has it; it's more like new beginnings rather than old times."

"New beginnings? What are you talking about?" Adam asked, caught off guard.

"You and Kat seem to be quite close, closer than you guys were back in the day," Tanya replied. "Is there something going on between you guys? You know you can tell me anything."

"Look, there isn't anything going on between us. Kat's a wonderful, beautiful woman, but we're just friends, honest," Adam told her.

"Right," Tanya replied, "I hate to cut you short hon, but I gotta get to work, I'll talk to you later, and don't wait so long to call me again," she scolded, trying to put aside what she was feeling in the pit of her stomach. She hung up the phone, "Knock it off Tanya" she said to herself; "You love Zack."

Adam sighed as he hung up the phone, "There's nothing between us, we're just friends," he said to himself.

Suddenly there was a loud 'pop' and the car began to shake, "What? You've got to be kidding me," Adam grumbled to himself as he pulled the car off to the side of the road. He jumped out and looked at the back tire, which was now a completely flat. "Damn," he swore quietly and opened his trunk, quickly flipping the bottom up. "Donut, and…" he looked again, "and where the hell is my tire-iron!" He exclaimed.

After calling AAA for some assistance and finding out they'd be at least an hour, Adam called Kat. "Hey Kat, it's me, I've got a favor to ask," he said with a sigh.

"Adam, what's wrong? Are you alright?" She asked worriedly.

"I'm fine, look I blew a tire, I have no tire-iron, and Triple-A is going to be an hour, can you pick Anaya up from school for me? You're already on the list of people who can pick her up, I added you a while ago," Adam told her, staring into his trunk as if he could magically make a tire-iron appear if he looked hard enough.

"Of course I will, take care of yourself Adam, why don't I start dinner when I get home…I mean, back to your place with Anaya, so you don't have to worry about it?" Kat suggested, hoping she'd covered her slip-up, and wondering why she'd made such a slip up at all.

"Sure," Adam said with a relieved sigh, "Thank you so much Kitty, I'll make it up to you. I promise."

"There's nothing to make up, Frog-man, you know I'd do anything for you guys," Kat replied softly.

"Thanks again Kat, it means a lot."

"Any time Adam, I mean it."

* * *

Katherine walked into the pre-school building for Angel Grove Schools, "I'm here to pick up Anaya Park," she told the secretary.

"Name please?" The polite old woman asked her.

"Katherine Hillard," she replied, showing her ID. She smiled as the secretary nodded her in, "thank you," she told her before heading towards Anaya's room. "Anaya?" she called, seeing the little girl playing with some friends.

"Kat-erine!" Anaya said happily, jumping up and running over to her, hugging her tightly.

"Hi sweetie," Kat said with a laugh, picking her up.

"Is that your mommy?" One of her schoolmates asked.

"No! I don't have a mommy, I have something BETTER! I have a Kat-erine!" Anaya replied with a giggle as she wrapped her arms around Kat's neck.

Kat laughed softly, "I don't think I'm better than a mommy Anaya," she said kissing her cheek.

"Yes you are! You're the bestest in the whole world!" Anaya said kissing her cheek back.

"Oh sweetie," Kat said not really wanting to cry in front of all those kids, but it touched her deep inside. "Come on, let's go home and get dinner started for Daddy."

"Can I help? Pleeeeeeaaasseeee!" Anaya begged.

"Of course," Kat replied as she carried her out of the school. "I can't do it without you."

* * *

**Author's Note2:** Well, it turned out better than I'd hoped. Enjoy, and let me know what you think. 


	7. Aisha!

**Author's Note:** Well here we are, another chapter. Time has gone on, what is our 'not yet a couple' doing? Ooh… and jealous rears its ugly head.

* * *

Kat was doing laundry in the basement of Adam's house when Anaya ran down the stairs, "Kat-erine!! There's a lady at the door, I didn't open it though cause it could be a bad person, but she's pretty!" Anaya said as she leaned her head around the corner.

"I'm coming sweetie," Kat said hurrying to the stairs and picking her up, then making her way to the door and opening it. "Aisha!!" She said in surprise, "What are you doing here?" She cried happily, wrapping one arm around her.

"I had some vacation time that they were going to take, so I decided to use it and come back home for a bit," Aisha said with a smile, she looked at Anaya, "Wow, you've gotten so big sweetie, I haven't seen you since you were a baby."

Anaya smiled, "Now I'm a _big _girl!" She said wiggling out of Kat's grip. "But who are you? I see pictures of you before."

"I'm your Auntie Ish," Aisha said with a laugh, squatting down to Anaya's level.

"Ooh! You send me my froggie!! I love you!" Anaya said hugging her.

Aisha hugged her back, "I love you too," she said before standing back up, "So… where's Adam?"

"Daddy is at work, but Kat-erine is here so it's otay," Anaya said, turning her head towards the living room. "Kat-erine, I gotta go, Dora is on!" she gasped, running for the living room at high speed.

Kat laughed and pulled Aisha into the house, hugging her friend again. "I've missed you so much 'Sha," she said with a smile.

"Me to girl, me too, soo…" Aisha grinned at her, "What's going on between you and Adam?"

"Oh god, not you too," she said with a sigh, dragging her downstairs. "Adam and I are friends that's it!" She said firmly.

"Right, which is why you are folding his laundry," Aisha noted, watching Kat attack the pile of clean clothes with a vengeance.

"_Our _laundry," Kat corrected her, not realizing how that sounded.

"Oooh… my bad, you're folding _your_ laundry," Aisha teased. "When was the wedding and why wasn't I invited?"

"Shut up 'Sha!" Kat blushed and threw a clean sock at her. "We are NOT married!"

Aisha laughed, "Honey, I really hate to break this to you, but you are acting like a married couple, sans the sex…" she paused, "it _is _sans the sex right? I mean you guys aren't…" she trailed off, a grin on her face.

"No!!" Kat exclaimed. "You've gotten down right wicked since last time I've seen you," she said with a laugh. "Bloody pervert," she teased.

"Well… you guys _are _practically living together, I was just wondering, I mean, the boy _can _dance, and you know what they say about that…"

"What do they say about that?" A voice from the stairs startled both the girls. "Are you talking about me 'Sha?" Adam asked coming down the stairs.

"Adam!" Aisha ran over to him, hugging him tightly. "I missed you," she said kissing his cheek.

"I missed you too, but what do they say about guys who can dance? I'm curious," he asked with a smile on his face.

"That they can carry their own laundry upstairs to put away," Kat cut in before Aisha could answer, handing Adam the laundry basket. She didn't want to have that conversation, she was sure she was blushing badly enough as it was.

_Not married my ass, _Aisha thought to herself watching the exchange.

"Yes ma'am," Adam said with a laugh, leaning over, kissing her cheek. "Thanks Kat, I don't know what I'd do without you," he said before heading upstairs with the laundry basket.

"You'd run out of clean clothes," Kat said, feeling her face flush even more under Aisha's stare. "What?" she asked after Adam was out of earshot.

"He kissed you!" Aisha exclaimed. "He. Kissed. You."

"It's not new," Kat replied, putting wet clothes in the dryer. "It doesn't mean anything, Aisha."

"It doesn't mean anything my ass woman! He wants you! Adam just doesn't go around kissing random people, hell, I only get kisses like that when it's been more than a month since we've last seen each other," Aisha stated firmly.

Kat sighed, "We're _just _friends Aisha, _friends,_" she stressed. "Now come on, you can help me start dinner," she said, dragging one of her best friends upstairs.

"Just friends my ass," Aisha murmured under her breath.

* * *

After dinner, Aisha was sitting on the counter next to the sink, watching Adam and Kat do up the dinner dishes. _Time to push things along,_ she thought to herself. "So Adam, whatever happened to Darla?" She asked nonchalantly, giggling to herself when Adam nearly dropped the dish he was drying.

"_Who _is Darla?" Kat asked in barely veiled jealously. _Ha, I was right, she does want him, _Aisha thought as she watched Kat.

Adam looked over at Aisha, glaring daggers at her and raising an eyebrow when she smiled innocently.

"Adam? Who's Darla?" Kat asked again, scrubbing at a dish harder than was necessary.

Adam looked over at Kat, watching her carefully, wondering why she was torturing that poor dish. "Darla was just a girl I had dated a few times," Adam said casually, stealing the dish from Kat before she washed the pattern off of it.

"Oh."

"But Adam," Aisha hid a smirk before looking over at them, "I thought she was the most beautiful girl you'd ever laid eyes on," she said sweetly.

"Oh really?" Kat asked, giving Adam an unreadable look.

"I might have over-exaggerated," Adam said quickly, "Besides, it was awhile ago, we'd just gone out a few times; it didn't mean anything." _Why am I trying to justify myself?_ He thought after a moment, he looked over at Kat, _oh yah, that's why, _"I haven't seen her in about 7 months or so," he added, keeping the 'since I ran into you', inside his head. _Is she jealous? Over me? _

"Oh, I see," Kat said turning her attention back to the dishes.

Aisha waited a few moments, until the silence was getting to be unbearable, "Hey Adam, why don't you see if Mama Park can watch Anaya so we can all go out tonight? I saw a flyer for a new jazz club that just opened up last week."

"It has been awhile since we've gone out," Kat said with a smile. "I read good reviews about that club in the paper too."

"I'll go call mama, you help Kat finish up the dishes," Adam said as he headed out of the room, trying to clear his head as his mind raced a mile a minute. _What is going on here? _He thought to himself with a sigh, running a hand over his head.

* * *


	8. The Claws Come Out

**Author's Note:** Let's continue on with the jealously shall we? Kat's claws come out.

* * *

Adam opened the door to the club, "After you ladies," he said with a smile, letting Aisha and Kat go ahead of him.

"Wow, look at this place," Kat said in amazement, it looked as if you stepped back in time 40 years, to the heyday of Jazz. "I love it!"

"Girl, this place is hot," Aisha said with a smile, noting that quite a few of the guys had taken notice of both herself and Katherine. "So is the scenery," she whispered, nodding at the bard.

"What? Ooh… yeah," Kat said with a smile, looking over at the bar. She almost jumped when she felt Adam's arm around her shoulder. "Hey," she said with a laugh.

"Let's go find a table," Adam said, giving the guys at the bar a look that said '_back off_' as he steered her and Aisha towards the tables off to the side.

"He so wants you," Aisha whispered to Kat after they'd sat down and Adam had gone off to order their drinks.

"Shut it," Kat said with a glare, turning her head to watch Adam over at the bar. _Wow, in those pants…_her thoughts trailed off and she shook her head, sighing softly to herself.

"Adam is lookin' pretty good tonight, don't ya think?" Aisha asked, seeing where, or rather at what, Kat was looking at.

"Yes he is," Kat murmured a bit absentmindedly, just watching him. Suddenly she sat up, "Who is that?" She asked, a jealous bite to her voice as she saw a tall brunette wrap her arms around Adam from behind.

Aisha almost laughed at Kat's tone of voice, "Retract those claws Kitty," she teased. She looked closer at the woman, "That's Darla."

"Oh, so _that _is the 'most beautiful girl he's ever laid eyes on'," Kat said rolling her eyes, _she doesn't look that great to me_, she thought to herself.

"Yeah, personally, I didn't like her," Aisha put in, watching Kat and laughing to herself at how obviously jealous her best friend was acting.

Kat got up after a minute, "I'm thirsty and _he _is taking too long," she said heading over to the bar, watching as Darla kept hitting on _her _Adam, _the lil'_ _tramp_, she thought to herself. She cleared her throat behind them, "Adam hon, do you have our drinks yet?"

Adam turned around, a look of relief in her eyes, "The bartender is still making them," he said shifting slightly so Kat could squeeze in beside him. He wound up moving so she was standing in front of him, with his hands on either side of her, resting on the bar.

"Who is _this_?" Darla asked, her eyes shooting daggers at Kat for interrupting them.

"I'm Katherine," Kat said a bit shortly, leaning back against Adam. She didn't know why, but she felt like staking her territory at the moment, even though Adam wasn't her territory.

"Ooh, Adam use to talk about you, one of his _little high school friends_," Darla said, the tone of her voice clearly making that an insult.

"Funny, Adam's _never _mentioned you," Kat retorted, giving her a little smirk. _Back off bitch, _she thought to herself.

Adam was watching the tense conversation with wide eyes, _wow, I never knew what it was like to have girls fighting over me, wait… why is Kat fighting over me? Oh thank god, drinks…_ "Kat, the drinks are here, we should go back and sit down," he said grabbing the drinks. He turned to Darla, "It was nice seeing you again," he said nudging Kat with his hip, signaling her to go back to the table.

As soon as Kat had left the table, Aisha pulled out her phone and dialed Rocky, "Rocky, oh my god, you will NOT believe this. We ran into Darla at the bar…"

"Oh no, what did she want? What's Adam doing with her?"

"LET ME FINISH! Adam was talking to her, and Kat just got this look in her eyes, like 'step off MY man' and the claws came out, and right now she's up at the bar. I mean she just sauntered her way up there, and slid into the space beside Adam, and now she's in front of him and it looks like he's got his arms around her!"

"No way! Yes, finally!" Rocky exclaimed, "Now they just need to get it over with already, cause ya know, matchmaker I ain't."

"Anyway, it looks like Kat and Darla were exchanging words, Darla looked like she wanted to smack her, oh shit, they're coming back, gotta go," Aisha hung up the phone right before they got back to the table. "Hey guys," she said innocently, "Rocky says hi."

"I wish Rocky could have stuck around to see you," Kat said as she sat down and took a sip of her drink.

"Yeah, we could have double-dated," Aisha said with a smile, watching both Kat and Adam turn interesting shades of red. _Score one for me, _she thought with a silent laugh. "Sooo, how's Darla?" She asked, seeing Kat's eyes go green at the mention of her.

Adam shrugged, "Pissed off I stopped calling her, but oh well, I was busy with work, and Anaya…"

"And Kat," Aisha put in, a smile on her face. She winced when she felt a kick to her shin and looked up at Kat, who was now shooting daggers at _her_.

"Anyway," Adam danced around that statement, "I was so glad Kat came up to rescue me, because she kept throwing herself at me."

"Bloody twit," Kat muttered, causing Adam to laugh. "What? She was throwing herself at you like a shameless little hussy," she quipped, smacking his arm.

"Well Kitty, you came up there, claws out, and saved me," Adam said with a smile.

Kat made a face at him, "I did not, I was just thirsty!" She protested, the blush returning to her cheeks as she picked up her drink and downed it. "See?"

Aisha giggled, "I believe you Kat," she said in a tone that stated just the opposite.

"Me too," Adam said with a smirk.

"Sod off," Kat mumbled in reply, a grin playing on her lips. She was enjoying herself tonight, including how she handled that woman.

* * *

**Author's Note2**: Sooo… the claws came out, things are moving along beautifully aren't they. From what I've mapped out, there are about 6 or 7 chapters left in this story. Please, let me know how you are enjoying this. I'll love you foreva and eva.


	9. Confrontation

**Author's Note:** I just wanted to say that Long Stories, New Beginnings is up for best PRZ Romance at the Season of Love Awards. The link is on my profile. If you could, head on over and vote. There's some amazing stories nominated in all categories.

**Author's Note2:** Apologies for not updating sooner, real life has been hectic, and I've had a block on this chapter. I think I've managed to break through it. Now, on with the story…

* * *

"I can't believe you are having twins!" Kat exclaimed, playing a hand on Hayley's belly.

"I know!! When I found out, I wanted to kill him," Hayley said with a laugh, looking over at Tommy, who was busy manning the grill with Adam, and Rocky. "Fraternal… it's all his fault," she said with a loving smile.

Kat laughed, "So… when's the wedding?" She asked following Hayley's gaze over to the boys.

Hayley smiled, "Not sure… sometime before he's called back to active ranger duty again I hope, because you KNOW it's going to happen."

Kat sighed shaking her head, "He is going to be the first ranger to wear every color isn't he?"

Hayley nodded, "Probably… can you imagine him in pink though?" She said as Tommy walked over to them, putting his arms around her.

"What's all the laughter about?" He asked, kissing Hayley's cheek.

"Ooh nothing, just playing guess what color you'll wear next," Hayley teased.

"Not funny," Tommy said with a pout.

"Ooh buck up Tommy, keep pouting like that, the next color you'll wear is pink," Kat teased and jumped away before he could swat at her. She smiled innocently and then headed over to where the Dino Thunder teens, _not teens _she corrected herself _they're all old enough to drink now,_ were lounging about.

"Hey Kat," Conner said jumping up with a smile on his face, "You want to sit down?" He asked, offering her his seat.

"Thanks Conner," she said with a smile, sitting down with them. "So, how's school going for you guys?" She asked, laughing silently as Conner sat down next to her as close as he could without really invading her personal space.

Rocky and Adam were arguing over who could man the grill better when Rocky broke off the argument and pointed, "Hey lookie there, looks like Tommy's protégé, takes after him in more ways than one," he said with a chuckle.

Adam looked over there and his eyes narrowed, "She's too old for him, what is he thinking," he grumbled, watching Conner overtly flirting with Kat.

"Whoa… I know you were green last, but your eyes don't look too good that color man," Rocky teased, shaking his head at the fact Adam had completely ignored him, all his focus on the youngest Red here, flirting with Kat. "Adam?" He said nudging him.

"What?" he asked, shaking out of his internal mantra, _I won't subtly strangle the Dino Red,_ he looked over at him, "Ya know what Rocko, you handle the grill" he said with a smile, heading over to where the DT kids and Kat were sitting.

"Hey guys," Adam said as he walked up behind Kat, placing his hands on her shoulders. "What's up?"

"Nothing… we were just complaining about classes to Kat," Kira said with a long suffering sigh.

"You've only got a year left Kira," Ethan said with a chuckle, "You can do it."

"So Conner," Adam turned his attention to the red ranger, "I here you're pretty good at soccer."

"The best," Conner said with a cocky grin.

"Wanna kick the ball around?" Adam asked, knowing he was about to wipe that grin off his face.

"Adam play nice," Kat scolded. "He's young."

"Hey now… don't worry, I'll take it easy on you," Conner said assuredly.

"Let's do it," Adam said with a chuckle.

Trent watched the two head off to the open field at the park, "Conner's going to get his ass handed to him, isn't he?"

Kat giggled, "Oh most definitely, Adam won't boast about it, but he was pretty good back in school, and his martial arts skills just enhance his agility."

An hour later, Conner practically crawled back to the picnic, laying on his back on the blanket the DT rangers had to them-selves. "Mercy," he grumbled, as he panted to catch his breath.

Adam followed him back, "You ARE really good Conner, just don't get too cocky, that's your downfall, you KNOW you're good, but you aren't the best," he said leaning against the tree. It was true, Conner WAS really good, and it took everything Adam had, and a little bit more, to make sure he did wipe that grin off Conner's face. "Where's Kat?"

"Ooh, she went into the pavilion for something awhile ago, said she wanted out of the heat," Kira told him.

"Okay, I'm gonna head over to the grill," Adam said heading over to Rocky and Tommy.

* * *

Kat had gone inside the pavilion to cool off a bit; it was maddeningly hot outside today. She could see Adam and Conner playing soccer through the window and she smiled as she watched them.

"Hey Kat, can I talk to you a second?" Tanya asked. She'd followed Kat into the pavilion.

"Sure, what's up Tanya?" Kat asked, turning around and smiling at one of her best friends.

"Look, I don't know what's going on between you and Adam…"

"Nothing!" Kat interrupted.

"Listen… Adam's a great guy, a wonderful guy and he wears his heart on his sleeve." Tanya kept going, biting her lip.

"I know that," Kat replied, unsure of where Tanya was going with this, though she had a gut feeling, and she didn't like it one bit.

"Just…" Tanya took a deep breath, "He deserves the best; I don't want him to get hurt again. Don't break his heart okay, he doesn't deserve that."

"Excuse me?" Kat asked sharply.

"What? All I'm saying…" Tanya began, but was cut off.

"Is that you think I'm going to break his heart? Or that you don't think I'd be good enough for him?" Kat asked enraged at the thought. _The nerve!_

"No! I mean… look, he's been through a lot." Tanya tried to back peddle.

"Yes! A lot of heartache that YOU caused," Kat retorted. "You have a lot of nerve to tell ME not to break his heart Tanya Slone, I'm not the one that broke off my engagement with him to run off with somebody else!"

"It wasn't like that!" Tanya exclaimed.

"The hell it wasn't… he didn't see it coming Tanya, YOU broke his heart. You have NO right to tell me what to do with him, HE is none of your concern anymore," Kat said hotly. She stormed past Tanya and out of the pavilion, heading off to the lake unnoticed, she needed time to think.

"Kat! Wait!" Tanya turned around to go after her but was stopped by Zack, who was giving her a look, "What?" She asked hotly.

"Mind telling me what that was about?" He asked calmly.

"I just don't want him getting hurt," Tanya said glaring at him.

"It sounded to me, like you were a jealous ex-girlfriend," Zack replied.

"I'm not!" Tanya exclaimed. "Zack, you know I love you, and I only want you."

"I do," Zack replied, "I also know, that when Adam finds out you upset Kat, you're in deep shit," he added putting his arms around her and hugging her. "You better figure out real quickly what that outburst was about, you KNOW how her self-esteem is."

Tanya hugged him tightly, burying her head into his chest. He was right, she knew he was right, but it didn't change the fact that it still stung to be called on what she did, even so many years after it happened, she wasn't ready to go make nice with Kat right away, just for Adam's sake, even if it was her fault.


	10. What? When? Where? Why?

**Author's Note:** Another update here… things are going from bad, to worse.

* * *

Anaya climbed up onto her daddy's lap, "Daddy? Where's Kat-erine? I miss her… I haven't seen her in FOREVER!" she exclaimed, draping herself across him.

"I know sweetie, I miss her too, but she's been busy," he said rubbing her back.

"She said she's never too busy for me… call her up daddy ask her to come play with me, pleeeeaaaseeee!!"

Adam smiled, "Okay Anaya-banana," he said with a chuckle. He got out his phone and dialed Kat's number.

Kat set down the box she'd been packing. "Hello?" she asked, smothering a yawn.

"Kat? It's Adam…"

"Adam! Umm… hi," Kat said biting her lip.

"I was wondering, we haven't seen you in awhile, and Anaya misses you like crazy. Did you want to come over for dinner?"

"I… umm… I don't know…" she paused, unsure of herself.

"Please! Please! Please!! I miss you Kat-erine!! Please!!" Anaya yelled into the phone.

Kat closed her eyes, taking a moment to pull herself together, "I miss you too Anaya… yeah, I'll come over for dinner."

"Yay!!! I love you Kat-erine!" Anaya yelled, getting up off the couch to dance around the living room.

Adam chuckled, "You've made her day Kat, come over soon?"

"Yeah, I'll be there soon," she said before hanging up. She looked around her room, the boxes scattered about, all half packed. "Shite" she cursed softly, before heading to the bathroom for a shower.

After dinner, Kat and Adam were on the porch, watching Anaya play on her swing set. Adam turned to Kat, who had a pensive look on her face, "Kat, is everything okay? You've been acting kind of distant ever since we got back from the picnic."

"Yeah… I'm fine," Kat said taking a deep breath. _Here goes nothing, _"I got a call that night, from the director of RBC," she said softly, looking out at Anaya.

"And?" Adam asked, a sudden chill running down his spine.

"The beginners technique instructor retired, and he remembered how good I was in his class, well… he suggested to the director that they hire me to replace him," She looked over at Adam. "They offered me the position."

"That's back in London, isn't it?" Adam asked in practically a whisper, a myriad of thoughts running through his head at the moment. _She couldn't have said yes, she wouldn't say yes, would she?_

"Yes, it's a very prestigious school, you know it's the best."

"I do," Adam replied. "You told them you'd take the job, didn't you?" He asked, his voice breaking slightly.

Kat nodded, "Yes," she whispered closing her eyes tightly to keep any tears from spilling out.

_How? Why? You can't leave us, we need you! _Adam took a deep breath and looked out at Anaya, "Why? I thought you loved it here, Angel Grove is your home," he said softly.

"I do love it here Adam, but, how could I turn this job down? I haven't had any job prospects here, at least in my specialty," Kat replied, her voice tight as she fought her emotions.

"When are you leaving?" Adam asked, running a hand over his head. _She can't leave! _

"Saturday morning," she replied, taking a deep breath as Anaya climbed up onto the porch. "Did you have fun sweetie?" She asked, trying to pitch her voice in a happy tone.

"Yes! I'm so glad you came over, I missed you so much Kat-erine," Anaya said climbing up into her lap. "I love you."

"Love you too," she whispered her heart breaking as she held her tightly. She looked over at Adam, who was staring out into the backyard. _I did the right thing, _she told herself firmly.

* * *

Later that night, Adam called Tanya up on the phone. She was still one of his best friends, and the one he needed to talk to at the moment. "Tan… it's Adam."

_Oh god, does he know? _Tanya thought as she took a deep breath, "Hey Adam, what's up? It's not like you to call so late, everything okay?"

"Kat's moving," he said sadly.

_Oh shit! _Tanya gasped, "What? Where? When? Why?" She exclaimed, mentally kicking the shit out of herself.

"She's moving back to London, the school there offered her a teaching job, and since she hasn't heard anything back from the local universities, she's taking the position, she's leaving Saturday," Adam said distraughtly.

"Oh god, Adam… I'm so sorry," she said softly. "You really care about her don't you?"

"Tan, she makes me happy, she makes Anaya happy," Adam replied staring out the window.

"I'm so sorry Adam, I didn't mean…" she trailed off.

Adam snapped to attention, "You didn't mean what? Tanya… did you say anything to her?"

"I just… I didn't…" Tanya stuttered.

"You… you…" he trailed off. "I'll be there in an hour," he said heatedly, slamming the phone down.

Zack looked over Tanya who was hanging up the phone, "What's up?"

"I really screwed up Zack, big time."

"Yeah, well I knew that, so what happened?"

"Kat's moving back to London," she whispered.

"Shit! See what I meant Tanya," Zack said grabbing his cell phone.

"What are you doing?" she asked sitting down next to him.

"I'm calling Kim, she's gonna call Aisha, then I'm going out to get something to eat, since I'm betting money Adam is on his way over here right now, isn't he."

Tanya nodded, "I was gonna ask you to get outta here anyway, I'm a big girl, I need to handle this one on my own."

Zack nodded, "And honestly baby, as much as I love you, you've got exactly what's coming to you when Adam lights you up," he said leaning over, kissing her softly. "But I still love you," he whispered.

Tanya smiled slightly, "I love you too, go… call Kim," she said shoving at him. She took a deep breath and steeled herself for her confrontation with Adam, which she knew wasn't going to go well.


	11. Confrontation Take Two

**Author's Note:** Sorry about the delay of an update. But no fear, the dreaded confrontation ahead.

* * *

Adam walked up to Tanya's door and right before he knocked, Zack opened the door. "Hey man, she's in the kitchen, leave her in once piece for me, kay?" 

Adam stopped short and stared at him, "I didn't think you were gonna be leaving, I thought you'd be doing the whole, 'defending her honor' thing," he said in surprise.

Zack laughed, "You know as well as I do, she doesn't need anybody defending her honor," he sighed, "Honestly man, she's deserves what's coming to her. I don't know why she said that stuff to Kat, but she had to know it would rile her up, I'm going out for a coffee and to make a few phone calls." He headed down the sidewalk, "Later Adam," he called back to him.

Adam shook his head, Zack was something else, he thought as he headed inside. "Tanya," he said flatly, seeing her standing in the kitchen doorway brought back to him exactly why he was standing here at her place.

"Adam I'm so…"

"No" he cut her off. He took a deep breath, "I don't want to here it. No apologies yet. I want to know what you said to her," he said in a deadly calm tone.

Tanya looked away from him, "I told her not to break your heart, you deserve better," she replied quietly. "I told her not to hurt you."

Adam stared at her, "Speaking from experience are we?" He asked shrewdly.

Tanya glared at him, "I didn't mean to hurt you Adam!"

"It doesn't matter what you meant to do Tanya, YOU did. And you've done it again," he spat back at her.

"I'm sorry! I didn't mean for her to run off like that! I just didn't want her to hurt you, you wear your heart on your sleeve, you deserve the best," Tanya yelled back at him.

"Who the hell gives YOU the right to decide whose best for me?" Adam yelled, "Kat IS the best thing that's happened to me!"

"I know!" She yelled in frustration. "I know because all you ever do is talk about her! Everything is Kat! Kat! Kat! Kat! Kat!"

The wind in Adam's sail went right out, right there was the root of the entire thing, he mused. "What?" He asked softly.

"Ever since she came back, all you've ever talked about is her! You use to call me once a week, just so we'd keep in touch. When was the last time you called me when you weren't in trouble, huh? Months ago!" She ranted at him.

"We've talked since then," Adam replied, watching her vent.

"I called you! If I want to talk to you, I have to call you! Ever since you got together with Kat, you've practically ignored me, I know I'm your ex, but I thought I was your friend too!" She said turning away from him, still seething, pissed at herself for ranting like that, even if it was the truth.

"Tanya, why didn't you say something?" He asked with a sigh.

"Because I didn't want to interfere," Tanya said running a hand through her hair.

"You didn't have any problem telling me to stop spending so much time with that, what did you call her," he stopped to recall, "that two-bit nasty little hoochie Darla," he said putting a hand on her shoulder.

"That's because Darla WAS a two-bit nasty little hoochie," Tanya replied, turning around to face him.

"So, why didn't you say something?" He asked again.

"Because it's Kat, and I've never seen you smile so much before, I've never seen you that happen before, I didn't want you to think I was being a jealous ex-fiancée" she said with a sigh of her own.

"So instead, you let it fester, and then exploded on somebody who is supposed to be one of your best friends," Adam replied.

"I'm sorry Adam, I just… I am jealous, but not because I want you back, we BOTH know that ship has sailed, I just missed you, and I took it out on her, and now I did the one thing I told her not to do," she said blinking back her tears.

Adam walked over to her and wrapped his arms around her, "You know I'll always be your friend right, and really, you should have just said something."

Tanya hugged him back tightly, "I'm so sorry Adam, I know you're still pissed at me, but I am really, really sorry," she whispered.

"I know, and I can't lie, I am still pissed," he sighed, "I'm also hurt, and sad, and heartbroken at the moment, so the last thing I want to do right now, is be pissed at you," he hugged her back.

Tanya sighed, _I've got to fix this_, "I'm going to fix this Adam," she said firmly.

"Tanya, please don't, don't get anymore involved than you already have been, please," he practically begged.

"But…"

"Please," Adam pulled back and looked her in the eyes. "Just don't," he softly.

"Adam…"

"Just don't," he repeated, and looked at the wall-clock. "I better get going, Ma is watching Anaya," he said looking at her. "Bye Tan."

"Bye Adam," Tanya said softly watching him leave, "Wow… that did not go the way I expected it too," she said going to the window, watching him drive off.

* * *

**Author's Note2:** Allow me to echo Tanya's sentiments, that did NOT go as I expected it too, but like all good stories, it takes on a life of its own.


	12. Threeway Conversation

**Author's Note:** So it's been way too long since I last updated this story. Life has been hectic and I've had some writer's block major. Anyway, here's the next chapter. I hope you enjoy.

* * *

After Zack left his and Tanya's house, he stopped for coffee and then parked his car, pulling out his phone; he dialed a number he knew by heart, Kim's. "Come on pinkie, pick up the phone," he mumbled under his breath as he listened the rings. Gotta figure out a way to fix this, Kim and Aisha are probably the only two who can do this, he thought to himself. 

"Zack! I haven't talked to you in forever," Kim said excitedly as she answered the phone, "what's going on?" she asked, and you could practically hear her bouncing on the other end.

Zack sighed, "We've got a problem, can you three-way Aisha, I need both of you for this one," he asked; then waited as Kim got Aisha on the other line. "You both there," he asked after a few minutes.

"Yah, we're here," they said in sync, causing Zack to laugh, despite everything that was going on. "What's going on Zack? You sound like something is seriously wrong," Kim noted, hearing the distress evident even in his laughter.

Zack quickly detailed what was going on, from the disagreement at the picnic, to Kat's withdrawal and decision to move, and Adam finding out what Tanya had said. "So, that's the situation." He sighed, you guys have never let us down before, don't start now, he thought worriedly.

"What?!? How, I mean… she's… they love each other!" Kim exclaimed after taking in everything that Zack had told her. "She can't leave; it'll break Adam and Anaya's heart, not to mention her own heart as well."

"How could Tanya say something like that to her? Out of all of us, she's been close with Kat the longest! Nobody called her out for dumping Adam for you, even thou we were pissed at her for hurting him," Aisha remarked, aggravation evident in her voice.

"This is kinda different Sha, you can't really compare the two situations," Zack replied, knowing that Aisha still had some anger towards Tanya on behalf of her best friend.

"Sure I can," Aisha started.

"No, you and Zack can work this shit out after we've fixed the current situation," Kim interrupted. "Now, we have to have two plans, one, to stop her from even leaving, which should be the most important plan. I'll call her tonight, and see if I can't get the story out of her and convince her she's making the biggest mistake of her life by leaving Adam and Anaya. But, we need a back-up," she replied, a thoughtful tone to her voice. She was definitely grinding her gears to think of something to save Adam and Kat's relationship.

"Okay, so back-up plan, it's not like we can go to England and drag her back here," Zack replied, sighing in frustration.

"No…" Aisha said suddenly, "but maybe we can stop her from _getting _to England," she pondered thoughtfully.

"Isn't that the first plan," Zack asked, a little confused at what Aisha was getting at.

"I get it!" Kim exclaimed. "She can't fly Cali to London non-stop. She'll have to have a layover, probably in New York, if she leaves Angel Grove, we still have a chance to stop her in New York, and get her to turn around and go home." She giggled, "Sha! That's brilliant!"

"You think it'll work, I mean, if she's already made up her mind to leave getting on that plane, why would she change it when she's halfway there?" Zack asked, clearly confused and thinking that the back-up plan didn't stand a chance at working.

"It might even work better than Kim's plan," Aisha countered. "She'll have that entire plane ride to think about what she's done, how much it's hurt, and if we're there to meet her in New York, I think it'll be easy to convince her to go back to Adam and Anaya. Even if she did change her mind, I think without some goading, she wouldn't be able to face going back after leaving. She'd probably think Adam hated her."

Kim sighed, "Yeah, even if she did realize she made a horrible mistake, she'd be too worried that Adam wouldn't forgive her to even try to go back," she agreed. "I think that's a great plan, why don't I book a flight up to your place, and after I talk to Kat, I can fly up there just in case it doesn't work."

Zack listened to the girls make their plans, "I'm really glad you guys worked things out, I didn't know what to do, which is why I called you two, you guys can do anything," he said with a chuckle, and a sigh of relief. "I'll let you guys go, I'm sure Adam's done ripping into Tanya by now."

"Wait! I think you and Sha have issues you two need to work out, work them out, I got to call our favorite kitty cat and have a chat, hopefully I won't have to bring out the claws," Kim said, quickly hanging up before they could argue.

"So…" Zack said, listening to the awkward silence between them.

"So…" Aisha said softly, trying to figure out how she wanted to say what had been on her mind for the last 6 years.

"Look Aisha…"

"How could you do that to Adam?" Aisha interrupted. "How could you just steal Tanya from him like that?" She exclaimed, it just popping out before she had time to rethink her wording.

"What?" Zack asked, shocked by her outburst. "Steal her?" He was confused, "I didn't do it to Adam, Aisha. I didn't even _know_ that the Adam Tanya was talking about was our Adam. I didn't know Tanya was a ranger, she didn't know I was a ranger, and I didn't know that the Adam she was rethinking her thoughts on was somebody I considered a good friend," he said honestly. "I felt bad when I realized who he was; I almost broke things off with Tanya. I felt like I was betraying him."

"Oh," Aisha said quietly, that single syllable speaking volumes. "I didn't know that," she said softly.

"Is that why things have been awkward between you and me, and you and Tanya for so long?" Zack asked curiously.

"Yeah," Aisha admitted. "I mean, you both are great friends, and when Tanya broke it off with Adam, and for you, I didn't know what to think. I didn't say anything to Adam about it, because he just wasn't ready to hear it, and by the time he was, well he had Anaya, and it just didn't seem important anymore," Aisha replied.

"I'm glad you finally talked to me about it, because Tan and I both noticed it, and Tanya was wondering what was going on with you," Zack said honestly. "At least you know now we were both above board and it wasn't an intentional slight."

"Yeah," Aisha said, sounding quite relieved. "I'm gonna go, and wait for Kim's call to me. Tell Tanya I said hi, and I'll call her soon, and I'll probably come out for a visit again soon so I can see you guys."

"Alright, take care Aisha, talk to you later," he said getting ready to hang up, "oh! Let me know how it goes with Kat alright? Tan and I are both concerned," he said before saying his goodbyes and hanging up.

"Now," he said as he started up his car, "to head home and see if Adam left me anything of my girlfriend." Zack pulled out of the parking lot and headed for home, deep down thinking that things would work out okay, for all of them.


	13. Saying Goodbye

**Author's Note:** Update Time… this story is moving steadily towards the end. Of Kat and Adam's tale anyway. :D

* * *

Kat looked around her apartment for the last time, taking a deep breath, "I'm doing the right thing, no matter what anybody says," she whispered to herself. Her cell phone rang and she looked at the display, "Kim! I don't want to talk about it anymore!" she yelled at the phone, before hitting the silence button, "Frustrating, bloody, interfering, pink!"

"You talking about yourself?" Adam asked with a half smile as he leaned against the doorframe, Anaya hugging his leg.

Kat spun around, "What? No," she said quickly, sighing as she caught Anaya's heartbreaking glances up at her. She knelt down, "Hi sweetie," she said softly.

Anaya disentangled herself from Adam and ran over to Kat, wrapping her arms around Kat's neck, "Do you have to leave?" She whimpered, burying her head into Kat's neck. "I'll miss you really, really badly."

"Oooh sweetheart, I'm gonna miss you too, but you and daddy can come see me, okay," she said kissing her head, holding her tightly.

"It's not the same," Anaya replied, sniffling softly.

"I know sweetie, but I have to go back," Kat whispered, her heart breaking even more.

"Speaking of," Adam said softly, checking his watch, "we have to go, your flight is leaving in two hours."

Kat stood up, picking Anaya up and shifting her to her hip as she did so, "Let's go," she nodded, biting her lip hard to keep herself from crying. _I'm doing the right thing._

Kat set Anaya down in one of the chairs in the waiting area of the airport, "Well sweetheart, this is as far as you guys can go with me," she said softly, sitting down next to her, laughing softly as Anaya immediately climbed into her lap, and wrapped her arms around her again. "I'm going to miss you so much," she whispered, running a hand slowly through her gorgeous curls. She looked up at Adam, "Both of you."

Adam swallowed and gave her as much of a smile as he could muster, "We'll miss you more," he said softly. He turned away as he phone vibrated and he flipped it open, seeing a text message from Tanya, _Tell her how you feel!!!! _Adam sighed, _Step off._ He texted her back, flipping his phone shut.

"Kat-erine, if you'll miss us that much, then don't leave us, please," Anaya begged, looking up at her, eyes shining with unshed tears.

"I wish I could stay," Kat whispered, kissing her cheek, "But I need my job baby girl."

"I can get you a job," Anaya begged, "you can move in with daddy and me, and take care of me. I could pay you! I get an allowance," she said clinging tightly to Kat. "I don't want you to leave!"

Kat's heart broke at the sadness in Anaya's voice and held her tightly, "Ooh baby, I wish…I wish that would work," she whispered, looking up at Adam, only to find him looking away from him, his eyes shut tightly. Just then, she heard her flight being called, "I have to go," she said kissing Anaya again, "I'm going to miss you so much" she said standing up, setting Anaya down gently.

"I love you Kat-erine," Anaya said softly, a tear escaping, falling solemnly down her cheek.

"I love you too baby girl," Kat whispered, kneeling down to wipe the tear away.

"Kat, I…" Adam started to say, watching their interaction.

Kat got up and wrapped her arms around him, hugging him tightly. "I'm going to miss you," she said softly, _I'm not gonna cry. I'm doing the right thing. I'm not going to cry, dammit! _She blinked back the tears that were threatening to mutiny.

"I wish you didn't have to leave," Adam said softly, holding onto to her tightly. "I…" he trailed off. "Things won't be the same without you," he said, chickening out of what he was originally going to say.

"I…" Kat pulled back, her eyes meeting his, and she felt her heart sink even more. "I have to go," she said hugging him again. She pulled away from him and picked up her bags. "I'll umm… I'll call you when I get into London," she said biting her lip.

"Bye Katherine," Adam said softly, watching her turn and walk away, "I'm an idiot," he muttered to himself. "Come on Anaya-banana," he said picking her up. "Let's go home."

Once he got Anaya situated in the car, he started it up, fiddling with the radio. He sighed, station after station was songs about love. "Screw it," he said flipping the radio off as he pulled out of the lot.

Later that day, he was putting Anaya down for a nap, "You going to be okay sweetheart?" He asked as he handed her, her stuffed frog.

"I miss her so much daddy," Anaya said with a sniffle. "I wanted her… I thought, I thought she could be my mommy," she whispered, clinging to her frog. "I love her daddy."

"I love her too," Adam said leaning down to kiss her forehead. "I love her too," he said to himself as he sat back up.

He headed out of her room and to the kitchen, grabbing a beverage for himself when his cell phone went off again. He flipped up the screen to read a text message from Tanya, _You are an idiot. _He made a face, _I know I am, but it takes one to know one, remember that. _He sent it to her and shut off his phone, resting his head against the fridge as he thought about the events of the day. "I should have stopped her."

Kat took a deep breath and laid her head back against the seat rest. Her heart was pounding and her mind was racing. It'd been so hard for her to leave. "It was for the best," she whispered, though her heart knew that was a lie to placate her mind. She slid her head phones on and hit random on her mp3 player. The first strains of a familiar song began to play and she closed her eyes tightly, willing back her tears once again. "If only I could turn back time; if only I had said what I still hide…" She choked back a sob and let her tears begin to fall freely.

* * *

**Author's Note2: **Well, she's gone. :( Is this the end? Stay tuned and find out. 


	14. Intervention

**Author's Note:** Again, apologies for the delay. School never stops it seems. Anyway, this story is slowly winding down to an end.

* * *

Adam lay in bed, staring at the ceiling as he contemplated the day's events. He couldn't believe she was gone, he couldn't believe he actually let her go without saying anything to her. "I should have stopped her," he said softly, turning over to bury his head into his pillow.

He looked up as he heard the pitter-patter of little feet entering his room. "Anaya? What's wrong sweetie?" He asked, watching as she padded over to the bed and held her arms up, waiting for him to pick her up.

"Daddy, I can't sleep," she said softly, burying her head into his chest. "Can I sleep with you?" She asked, wrapping her arms around his neck.

"Of course you can Anaya-banana," Adam replied softly, his heart breaking at the pitiful tone to her voice. "I think Daddy needs somebody to snuggle with tonight too," he said laying her down in bed next to him.

Anaya snuggled up against him, "Daddy… I want her to come home," she said after a few minutes, and a soft sniffle could be heard. "I want my Kat-erine back," she whispered before starting to cry softly.

"Ooh baby girl, don't cry," he said holding her tightly. He began to rock her, humming gently. I want her back too, he thought to himself, unable to hold back his own tears as he took care of his daughter. Finally, Anaya cried herself to sleep and Adam followed soon after, evidence of his own bout of tears still streaking his face.

* * *

Kat was awakened by the chime signaling their descent in New York. She brought her hands up to her cheeks and winced slightly. "My god, I must look a fright," she said softly, gently touching her puffy eyes. She couldn't believe she'd cried herself to sleep. "I did the right thing dammit," she murmured. _Then why does it feel so bad,_ a treacherous part of herself asked.

After arriving she headed into the terminal. She had five hours until her flight to London left, and all she felt like doing was curling up in a chair and crying once more. She shook her head, trying to snap herself out of her misery and began to head towards baggage claim. She stopped short when she saw two figures leaning against a pole near the claims area for her flight. "K..kim? Aisha?" She asked softly, staring at them in shock for a split second before all but flinging herself at them.

"Kat!" Kim exclaimed, wrapping her arms around her. She held her tightly when she felt Kat breaking down on her shoulder. "Oooh honey," she whispered soothingly, her heart aching at what Kat must be feeling at the moment. Aisha just wrapped her arms around Kat from behind and she and Kim just stood there, letting Kat cry out all her emotions onto their shoulder.

After a good long cry that seemed to take hours, Kat picked her head up, "What are you guys doing here?" she asked in astonishment. She really was shocked, Kim was the last person she would have ever expected to be at the airport right now.

"You really think we could let you make a mistake this huge?" Kim asked, taking a tissue from Aisha and wiping gently at Kat's eyes.

"It's not a mistake, I'm doing the right thing," Kat said in a monotone voice. She felt nauseated by that very statement now.

"If it truly the right thing, you wouldn't be so upset right now," Aisha responded gently. "Why is this the right thing? Seriously, Kat, this is a huge mistake."

"I can't find a good job there, I have solid work lined up in London, how could I stay there?" Kat replied sniffling once and trying to daub away more tears.

"What about Adam? What about Anaya? Honey, they love you. You love them, you can just runaway," Kim said with a soft sigh. "Besides," she said with a small smile, "you CAN find an absolutely great job back in Angel Grove."

Kat looked down and saw a mischievous look in her fellow pink's eyes. "Kim, what are you talking about, and what did you do?" She asked accusingly.

"I didn't do anything!" Kim protested. "I called up my old gymnastics coach, he works at AGU now, he told me that their Principals of Dance instructor retired. They're currently looking for a new teacher. I might have slipped your name into the conversation," she said with grin and a wink.

"Kimberly! I already accepted the position in London!" Kat exclaimed, though internally she was thrilled at the proposition of having a position back in Angel Grove. "I can't go back!"

"I might have made a phone call to your friend in London, telling him that you found a position closer to home," Aisha said trying to hide her grin.

"What?!" Kat exclaimed. "But, I can't go back!"

"Why?!" Kim and Aisha exclaimed right back at her. They shared a look before fixing her with their own looks.

"I can't go back! Adam probably hates me for leaving him, Anaya too," Kat said softly, looking as if she was about to break down again. "Even if I do go back, they'd never forgive me for leaving in the first place."

"Honey, the moment Adam sees your face, he's going to grab you and kiss you and probably declare how much he freaking loves you," Aisha scoffed, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Yeah, sure he will," Kat dismissed that with a wave of her hand.

"Wanna bet? Twenty bucks says he will," Aisha retorted holding out her hand.

"Deal," Kat said shaking on it before she realized what she'd just agreed to do. "Hey!" she exclaimed, her eyes going wide.

"Excellent!" Kim squealed, grabbing Kat's arm. "Get your backs girl, our flight back to Cali leaves in half an hour." She steered her over to the baggage carousel as Aisha furiously texted a message, _Pick us up airport, flight 153. _

"Our flight?" Kat asked, thoroughly confused at the moment, the foremost thought in her mind was that she was going back to Angel Grove, she was going back to Adam. That thought gave her butterflies in her stomach, and alternatively filled her with dread.

* * *

**Author's Note2:** I just have to thank everyone who has stuck through this story and taken the time to review. I love you guys so much for it. The end is nearing folks. 


	15. The Return

**Author's Note:** An update, yay!! And yes, I know, _It's about time!!! _Thanks for sticking with me as long as you all have. We're rapidly approaching the end of this story folks, enjoy.

* * *

"I can't do this," Kat said for what was probably the hundredth time since they'd bored the flight back to California. She was walking through LAX towards their baggage claim area.

"Yes you can," Kim said with a sigh, grabbing her hand as they walked. "You can, you're already here, you just need to go home, everything will be alright," she said squeezing Kat's hand. "No worries."

"No, I really… I can't do this," Kat said trying to turn around to go back towards the plane.

"Girl!" Aisha grabbed her other hand. "Come on!" She said as Kimberly and her dragged Kat to the baggage claim.

"What if they're mad?" Kat asked as they waited for their baggage. Every single horrific scenario was playing in her head. Adam hating her, Anaya pushing her away, even…heaven forbid, seeing that Darla woman in Adam's arms when they got back to the house. "I can't do this," she said turning around and walking right into a black wall that… moved?

"Hello," Zack said with a grin. "I see you guys made it on time," he said as Kat backed up to look at him.

"Hi Zack," Kat said with a small smile. "Guys…I really can't do this," she said trying to move around him.

Zack stopped her and picked her up, "Been having this problem much?" He asked, putting Kat over his shoulder, much to her chagrin.

"Thank you!" Kim and Aisha exclaimed with laughter as they grabbed all the luggage the three of them had.

"Zack! Put me down," Kat cried, torn between horror and laughter. She tried to wiggle off his shoulder but he held on to her tightly. "This is so bloody undignified!" She exclaimed, finally succumbing to laughter and for the first time since Kim and Aisha ganged up on her in New York, she relaxed.

"Well, if you wouldn't try running off every 10 seconds, Zack wouldn't have to carry you out to the car," Aisha said moving her head around Zack's shoulder so she could see Kat.

"I won't do it anymore, I promise!" Kat exclaimed, wiggling more. "Zachary Taylor! Put me down!" She yelped and then grabbed onto his back when she started to slip. "Don't you bloody drop me!"

Zack laughed, "Well… you said to put you down, make up your mind," he said with a sigh. "So ladies, our chariot awaits," he said walking towards the exit, Kat still hanging on his shoulder.

"I wish I had my camera on me," Kim said with a giggle as she followed Zack. "That image is too good to pass up."

"We'll have to get a repeat performance later," Aisha agreed.

"Over my dead body!" Kat exclaimed as they passed out the exit. "Zack put me down! I can walk now, I swear," she pleaded, yelping slightly when Zack set her upright. "Thank you," she said smoothing out her clothes. She turned around as a car pulled up in front of them and inadvertently stepped backwards when she saw who was driving, Tanya. "Umm…"

Tanya got outta the car, "We get you back to Adam first, me and you can work things out after that," she said softly, opening the trunk for everyone's bags.

"Oh…er…right," Kat said slipping into the backseat with Kim and Aisha. Her nerves had returned full force, not only worrying about Adam's reaction, but dealing with Tanya as well. She was grateful that Tanya was driving, her concentration was on navigating the highways back to Angel Grove, not on small talk.

Kim watched her fidgeting on the ride back and finally put her hand on Kat's knee. "Honey, please… you need to relax, things are going to be okay," she said softly.

"You really think so?" Kat asked, biting her lip nervously as she looked over at her predecessor. She couldn't help but think that things were going to go horribly wrong.

"I _know_ so," Kim stated firmly. "And I'm always right, aren't I?"

"She's got a point," Zack put in before Kat could answer. "She IS always right. Terribly annoying habit she's got, isn't it?" He added, drawing a smile from Kat, which was his plan all along.

"You're just jealous," Kim said, leaning forward to smack him. "I'm just that damn good."

"Cocky too," Kat said with a slight giggle.

"It's not cockyness if you can back it up," Kim said with a firm nod. She looked at Kat, "Seriously, why are you so nervous? You love him, we _all_ know that he loves you, things will be fine," she said squeezing her knee reassuringly.

Kat sighed, she didn't know how to explain that it was all well and good that _they _knew Adam loved her, but until she heard the words from his mouth, she couldn't believe it. "Okay," she said leaning her head on Kim's shoulder. She couldn't wait until they got back to Angel Grove so she could find out for sure.

* * *

Kat was nudged awake as Tanya's car pulled up in front of Adam's house. She looked over at the darkened house and chewed on her lip again, a nervous habit she knew she had to break soon, but that was neither here nor there. She took a deep breath. "Alright, I know what I'm going to do, but that involves none of you guys being there."

"Umm, where are _we _supposed to go?" Aisha asked, motioning to Kim and herself. "Whatever you have planned, you can do with Kim and I asleep on the futon downstairs." She said in a no-nonsense tone that brokered no arguments.

"Fine, but you guys can't wake up Adam, okay," Kat said as they got out of the car. The entire plan came to her in a split second, and she knew that it would be okay if it worked.

"Yes ma'am," Kim said with a salute.

"Don't mess with the boss," Zack said with a chuckle, getting out and hugging the girls. "Call us umm… in about 6 hours and let us know what happened, we'll need at least that much sleep."

"We'll call you this afternoon Zack, don't worry," Kim said with a laugh as she pushed him towards the car, "its ass o'clock in the morning, go home and get some sleep."

"Yes ma'am," Zack mimicked her as he got back in the car. "Bye girls…"

"Bye Zack," they chorused as the car pulled away. "Now," Kim turned to the others, "How do we get inside?"

Kat pulled out her keys, "I never gave Adam back his house keys," she answered as they headed into the yard. "We'll go in the back door, it's farthest from the bedrooms, just remember to be quiet," she cautioned again as she unlocked the back door.

* * *

Once inside, and after Kim and Aisha had crept down into the basement to pass out, Kat let out a sigh of relief. She moved silently through the hallway to Adam's room and looked through the partially opened door. Her breath caught in her throat as she saw Anaya curled up in Adam's arms, the moonlight illuminating both of them, tearstains on both their cheeks. Maybe Kim was right, she thought to herself as she crept back into the kitchen and looked at the clock. If things went right, her timing would be perfect. Now to get started, she thought to herself as she headed for the fridge.

Anaya woke up a few hours later and blinked sleepily. She slipped out of her father's arms and slid out of bed. She thought she smelled pancakes, but she couldn't be right since daddy was still sleeping. Quietly she padded out of the bedroom, stopping in her room to grab her froggie and she made her way out into the kitchen and stopped, gasping softly and dropping Froggie onto the floor. She had to be dreaming.

Kat turned around the second she heard the soft footsteps coming into the kitchen and put her fingers to her lips, motioning for Anaya to be quiet and then knelt down to her height. "Hi baby girl," she whispered softly.

Anaya bounced on her toes and then ran for Kat, nearly knocking her over as she hugged her. "Kat-erine… you came back" she whispered, clinging tightly to her. "You really, really came back!"

"I missed you too much," Kat whispered, picking her up as she walked back over to the stove. "I couldn't leave you guys… I'm sorry I tried," she murmured kissing the little girls cheek over and over, eliciting soft giggles from her.

"I forgive… just don't ever do it again," she said shaking a finger at Kat. Then she noticed the pancake batter and the rest of the breakfast ingredients out. "Whatcha doing?" Anaya asked softly.

"I was gonna surprise you and daddy with breakfast in bed," Kat said sitting the little girl down on the counter. "Now _you and I _can surprise daddy with breakfast in bed," she said kissing her nose. "So we gotta be quiet so we don't wake up daddy, okay?" She smiled at Anaya's emphatic nod. "Love you Anaya."

"Love you too Kat-erine," she whispered back softly and sat back to watch Kat make breakfast. As far as she was concerned, all was right in the world because Kat-erine had come back to her and her daddy.


	16. The End

**Author's Note:** Well… we've come to the last chapter of this story, shall we see just who wins the bet between Aisha and Kat.

Adam rolled over in his bed, waking up when he realized that Anaya wasn't sleeping curled up to him anymore. "Wha?," he yawned, shaking his head to get his brain functioning again, "Where'd she go?" He asked aloud to himself as he slipped out of his sheets and stood up. He took a sniff of the air, he smelled bacon, and pancakes, "She can't be… when'd she learn to cook," he asked himself, still slightly sleep fogged, as he headed out of the bedroom towards the kitchen.

Kat was busying herself at the sink, washing up the pans she had used to make breakfast with, watching out of the corner of her eye as Anaya play-fed her Froggie at the kitchen table, making tiny 'nom, nom, nom,' noises and cooing at him. She laughed softly and set a pan in the dish-rack, she felt amazing; she just knew, deep down in her heart, that everything was going to be alright.

Adam walked into the kitchen, stopping dead in the doorway. He blinked a few times, quite sure that it was a dream, or a delusion of his sleep fogged mind. He stared at the figure with her back to him. It couldn't possibly be who he thought it was, she was probably in London by now. "Kat…" he whispered, fearing to raise his voice anymore, thinking she would just disappear, again.

Kat tensed up hearing that whisper from the doorway. It's no or never, she thought to herself as she turned around. She bit her lip, "Adam…I…" 

Adam quickly crossed the distance between them, wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close to him, he wasn't going to let the chance pass him up again. He'd already done that once. He caught her lips in a passionate kiss. "I love you," he whispered as he pulled away slightly.

"I love you too," Kat whispered a little breathlessly, caught off guard but the sudden and amazing kiss. "I'm so sorry Adam," she bit her lip. "I…" she trailed off, she wasn't sure what to say, now that she was face to face with him, and the surprise declarations of love were out of the way. 

"You came back," he said softly, the realization of what had just happened and what had just been said hit him like a ton of bricks and caused his cheeks to flush. "How?"

"I got halfway to New York and realized what a huge mistake I was making," Kat replied softly, biting her bottom lip nervously. "Thanks to some of our friends, who know me better than I know myself, I was set straight and put on a flight back to where I belong…here," she said with a smile.

"I'm so glad you're back." Adam held onto her tightly, fearing that if he let go, he'd wake up and realize this was all just a dream and he was alone still. 

"I am too!" Anaya got up and ran over to the couple, squeezing between their legs. "Pick me up!" She exclaimed looking up at them.

"I still don't understand…" Adam said as he picked up Anaya, holding her between himself and Kat. 

"I'll explain everything, in detail, later, when you're more awake," Kat promised. "Now, why don't you sit down at the table, since I can't very well serve you breakfast in bed anymore." She playfully pushed him and Anaya towards the dining room, "Go on now…"

"If this is a dream, I don't want to wake up," Adam murmured to himself as he set Anaya down and headed for the table. "Ouch!" He exclaimed, looking down to see Anaya pinching his arm. "Honey… let go."

"See Dad, it's not a dream," she replied matter-of-factly as she let go of his arm. 

"Thanks," he said shaking his head, when did my daughter become such a smartass, pondered to himself.

"So, Kim and Aisha brought you back here?" Adam said as he got up, taking their dishes to the sink. "Where are they now?"

Kat laughed, "They are down on the pull out in the basement, catching up on their beauty sleep, since they were up all night plotting against me." She got up and wrapped her arms around Adam from behind, and rested her head on his shoulder, watching him rinse off the breakfast plates.

Adam chuckled at that, "I can't believe they did that," he said setting the dishes aside and turning around to face her. "Actually, I _can _believe they did that," he amended after a moment, a thoughtfully look on his face. "I'm so glad they did," he said placing a soft kiss on her lips.

Kat smiled at the gesture of affection, why hadn't she realized this sooner, she wondered as she sighed contently as Adam's arms looped around her waist. "If you're so glad, pay Aisha the twenty dollars I owe her, I lost a bet because of you," she said poking him in the shoulder playfully. 

"Bet? What did 'Sha bet with you about?" He asked curiously, letting go over her to catch her finger before she could poke him again. He laced their fingers together and brought her hand up to his lips so he could place a soft kiss on each of her knuckles. 

Kat laughed softly and pulled her fingers away from his lips, "She told me you would grab me and kiss me as soon as you saw me, I didn't think you would; you did, so I lost the bet."

Adam laughed, "So you want me to pay up?" He wrapped his arms around her waist again, and pulled her close. "Well, I guess since it IS my fault you lost the bet, I could be a gentleman and pay her." He smirked, "But… it will cost you."

Kat raised an eyebrow at that, and did _not _think about how sexy he looked when he was smirking, "Cost me what?" She questioned curiously.

"You have to be mine forever more," he said before leaning in, kissing her passionately. After a few moments he pulled away, "Well…" 

It took Kat a moment to gather her thoughts after that heated display of affection, "I think I can handle that," she said softly, licking her lips. "I'll be yours forever." She reached up and caressed his cheek, "And a day." 

The… End

**Author's Note2:** That's it folks. It's over. Done. Finite. No More. They have their happy ending, and I finally have my finished story! Yay! I may or may not do a One-shot sequel of their wedding day; it depends on how the muses are behaving, which at the moment they most definitely are not. Anyway… I hope you enjoyed, and I sincerely thank everyone whose read and reviewed this story from day one, it means a lot to me to know that you've all enjoyed this story. I love you all.


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